Marketers fail to measure up

16th September 2016 PR Research 3 minute read

Marketers and PROs are failing to track the impact of their own PR and marketing according to a recent study by data marketing specialist Ruler Analytics. Daniel Reilly, CEO of Ruler Analytics, says this demonstrates how the PR industry does not practice what it preaches: “For the marketing and PR sector, lead generation and analytics is a vital part of proving the ROI to clients, so it’s very surprising to see that PR professionals themselves are neglecting their own marketing.“

Reilly adds: ”We found that PR and marketing businesses were four times less likely to analyse the impact of their own promotional activity than retailers (who were the best at analysing impact).”

Other key findings of the study include :

On an index of 100, marketers and PROs scored the lowest for embracing analytics with a score of 28.6.

92% of all businesses polled used some kind of analytics software to review the performance of their website.

Less than half (42%) felt satisfied with what the software told them, with 57% feeling that they couldn't use this data to manage their marketing spend more effectively.

Few businesses know the return on their digital marketing spend (21%) or the volume or outcomes of resulting telephone calls (18%). One in seven businesses (14%) do not regularly track any of these indicators

Reilly believes that the biggest missed opportunity is tracking how phone calls are driven by marketing and PR activity, adding: “The telephone plays a very specific role in the buying process for customers. Whilst most business customers will use online tools for research and assessing possible suppliers, for many, the telephone is still the channel used to initiate contact.

Underlining further the power of the telephone, Reilly says:”Our research shows that lead-generation websites in the UK receive around 75% of their inbound leads via inbound telephone calls compared to 25% via form fills. And 56% of these phone leads come from a desktop search rather than from a mobile or tablet (42%).”

Reilly offers four pieces of advice:

Recognise that insight is crucial. Not only does it give you control over your growth, it also allows you to make informed decisions about the ROI of marketing spend – which could mean the difference between making a healthy profit or a damaging loss.

Get the right tools – look for insight that covers the key channels of communication and can be customised to your needs. What do you need to track and how do these relate to the important decisions you need to make?

Use the insights you gain. Knowing the facts is one thing, acting on them is another. Make ROI your guiding principle – be prepared to try new approaches (with a careful eye on the data), and drop things you have always done but are no longer profitable or the best use of budget.

Don’t forget the phone – in a digital world tracking phone calls may feel very 20th Century, but it’s still how the majority of leads you generate will be revealed.

Marketers often neglect their own marketing because they focus so much on their day-to-day work, but it makes sense that if you advise your clients to measure the power of insight, to follow your own wisdom.